Case study

Situation

A manager is experiencing considerable stress, because of constant interruptions and issues being brought to him to be resolved. To address the situation, he creates teams headed by team leaders. All team members are to report to their leaders when issues need to get resolved.

Situation

Middle manager involved in a critical project where multiple issues had caused inevitable delay. The manager had to address senior executives, brief them on the status of the project and tellthem that there was no way delays could be avoided. The situation caused the manager much stress and anxiety.

Intervention

Addressed stress-relief approaches with manager: state change, breathing, results focus.

Situation

Meetings in a financial institution had become repetitive and boring. Attendees felt they were wasting time and getting little or no value from the meetings. They attended because it was mandatory and were becoming increasingly disgruntled about it.

Intervention

Identified key issues:

• Lack of preparation from meeting leader;
• Lack of commitment from key stakeholders;
• Lack of focus for meetings;

Implemented changes:

• Coached meeting leaders on effective meeting preparation and follow up;
• Main stakeholders agreed to adhere to a high standard of conduct: arrive on time, turn off Blackberries, openness to being challenged, better listening
• Frequency of meetings reduced
• List of attendees reduced. Only people who contributed to the process were obligated to attend. All others receiving the information only needed to acknowledge that they had read and understood it.

Result

Fewer meetings were held, which allowed former attendees to spend more time on their projects. This reduced stress level of the staff and reduced work hours for most people involved. Meetings became shorter in length, which encouraged more people to attend because they were focused and delivered high value. Team morale improved because they felt that major stakeholders listened to their comments and acted upon them.